1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a support for a limb, and more particularly to a support used to position and hold patient limbs during surgical procedures.
2) Description of Prior Art
Many surgical procedures require that a patient's limb or limbs be positioned in a number of different positions for the performance of the surgical procedure. It is desirable that the operating surgeon or surgical assistant be able to move the limb into other positions and configurations that may be required during the course of the surgical procedure. It is also desirable that any positioning apparatus that may be used to achieve such positions and configurations mitigate unwanted stress on the operative joint.
One conventional method for positioning a body part is to have a sterile surgical assistant hold the body part in a desired position, and change the position when and as requested by the operating surgeon. This task is fatiguing for the surgical assistant, and this technique may not support the patient's body part in a sufficiently precise and rigid manner for the surgical procedure. Other conventional methods for positioning a patient's limb are to rest the limb on a table for that purpose, to hang the limb over part of the operating room table, or to rest the limb on the lap of a seated operating surgeon. All such techniques offer a very limited range of possible limb configurations, serve to restrict the movement of the surgeon, and result in reduced precision and rigidity of support.
Further, conventional devices that are employed for supporting a patient's limb during a surgical procedure are typically unable to support the limb while at the same time allowing the limb to be manipulated in one or more axes. Such devices can typically only be fully locked or fully unlocked, and are not able to support their own weight when unlocked.